Why we should reach for God in our grief and sadness

In many countries, especially developing ones, most people have to fight against extreme poverty, famine, conflict and despair on a daily basis, yet those of us privileged to lead relatively easy lives must tackle such things  such as fear, stress, and anxiety.

Sadness just seems to be our plight as human beings on this Earth; no matter where we live — east, west, north or south – trouble is everywhere.

Confusion

Why — I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because we are living in a time of confusion, especially here in Bermuda.

The present state of affairs is something we never would have imagined.

My colleague and sister friend Claire reminded me the other day that all of us in Bermuda are presently in a state of mourning — sadness abounds.

We are losing our young people, especially our young men, hand-over-fist, either to violence or the roads.

We are all sad, and we grieve right along with the families who have lost their loved ones.

Many of us living with pain and grief, or afflicted with hardship, feel abandoned. We feel like we are running up a steep hill in stilettos!

Life is so hard. Our desires and debts loom over us, like dark clouds, ready to gush down torrential rains.

How do m0st of us cope?  Well, many search for comfort in addiction and in self-destructive behaviour.

Some go to bars as soon as they open and don’t leave right up until they close. I bet the bars are not feeling any pangs from the recession.

No matter how much drugs, alcohol, or whatever other destructive activity we engage in, our sadness does not go away; no, it is only made numb. 

We wonder, is there any hope of us climbing out of this dark web of hopelessness?  If I tell you to find God, you are going to tell me I am crazy or delusional.

A vast majority of us don’t want to believe that there is a God but I can tell you that God works for me.

My coping mechanism is in my faith. Without Allah as my God, I would be amongst those void of hope and full of despair, drugs or alcohol.

My Lord promises, “Verily, in the remembrance of God, do hearts find rest” (Quran 13:28). 

To find comfort, my advice is that we must turn back to our Creator.  God knows what is best for His creation. 

He has complete knowledge of us whom He has created. He knows of the pain, the despair and the sadness. 

God is whom we should be reaching for in the darkness. When we put God back on our ‘to do list’, I promise the pain will subside.

We need and yearn to mend our broken hearts and shattered souls.

I could not cope under my own volition — no, I need the Lord of the Worlds for solace.

The belief in my Lord comforts my soul. Allah says: “And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient ones” (Quran 2:155).

“Therefore, remember Me (God) and I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me” (Quran 2:152).

“If God helps you, none can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you? And in God (Alone) let believers put their trust” (Quran 3:160).

Bermuda, turn to God, He will never turn away from you.